This is a very long comment, asking a couple related questions. Apologies if I'm hijacking the thread a bit.
I was thinking about this from a couple slightly different angles:
1) What sorts of things might be easy for (other) people to donate, and would be really appreciated, by me or others?
2) What can I donate at the moment?
First question:
One thing that came to mind is a nice collection of Pinguicula leaf pullings. I understand there is a "best" time of the year for many, which may be about now (?) If so, they could certainly be taken now instead of at the time of the auction. They would just be farther along. I'm not personally in the market for more Pinguiculas right now (I think. I only have P. gigantea) but given the current popularity of the genus, this might be fun for someone to add to the auction.
I would probably like to get Pinguicula 'Tina' back at some point.
I don't know if it's practical to add collections of other leaf pullings? Is this practical for VFTs at the appropriate time? I've never propagated one, but I suspect an instant collection of cultivars could have great appeal. A collection of Drosera leaf pullings would no doubt have great appeal.
Of course, many can take cuttings of their plants. Many of us have experience with unrooted Nepenthes cuttings, so those are entirely reasonable to add to the auction, especially if one has a very vigorous plant.
I expect fresh Nepenthes seed pods would get a lot of attention.
So I would encourage people to look around and see whatever cuttings, seedlings, seeds, or excess plants they might have. I personally don't have much in the way of CPs to add to the auction at the moment. Possibly a Nepenthes basal I removed, but it's probably premature. I'm already planning to propagate Pinguicula gigantea, and give a couple leaves to someone, so I can't donate leaves at the moment.
My second question: a couple non-carnivorous plants I'm thinking of adding to the auction:
Begonia amphioxus:
I took a cutting and stuck it in soil. I assume it's rooting, and it has a lot of aerial roots (grown in enclosed conditions). I'm expecting it will be stably rooted in time for the auction. As far as I'm aware, this is usually grown as a terrarium plant. I don't have a picture of bigger plant right now. This is considered a fairly choice plant, although it has become cheaper and more available lately. This is in a 3 inch cup. The cutting is fairly small.
A couple views:
It's one branched cutting. It has tons of aerial roots:
Impatiens namchabarwensis:
The blue Impatiens, discovered relatively recently in the world's deepest canyon in Tibet. It dies with frost but is generally a prolific reseeder, so they can be grown in some areas with significant winter cold. I believe they are somewhat heat sensitive, but I'm not sure where they can be grown successfully. I have some plants that made it through our unusually cold and wet winter (SF Bay Area). However, they looked ragged, and needed to be cut back to encourage bushiness. So I'm rooting some cuttings, which can hopefully be donated. I also have seedlings, but I suspect rooted cuttings are easier to ship than potted plants. The plants are very brittle. The plant can be grown indoors under lights.
The plant in bloom:
And the cuttings I started today (about 5 cuttings? I'll find out and edit this). These normally root in 1-2 weeks, but I have these outside now. Hopefully there's time...
Yes, there's too much water, but I'm more concerned with them drying out than the lower leaves being too wet.
Hattie Wood Sansevieria:
This is kind of an odd plant, because it's one with a long story. I posted that elsewhere on Terraforums:
The plant I grow is just an ordinary Sansevieria trifasciata. However, this particular plant has quite a history. The story starts when I read online that Larry Rettig of the University of Iowa (sadly, now deceased), had grown Impatiens namchabarwensis, but lost it. This plant, the blue...
terraforums.com
So basically, it's descendent of the plant in the Grant Wood painting 'Woman with Plants'. I have the list of who owned it up to me, which was also published by the guy who gave me the plant. It's probably (?) also the same Sansevieria as the one in the more famous painting 'American Gothic' (which is arguably the most famous American painting. It's certainly the most parodied). So the person who gets this plant would have a plant with a connection to art and history. I find that very cool.
Here's what I have propagated at the moment. The mother plant lives at my mom's. It lives outside and looks terrible, which is why I'm inclined to keep the larger plant...
I'm leaning toward the largest plant in the propagation pot on the left (near the white tag). It's the second largest plant above. It was removed from the rooted leaf a while ago, and has been living on its own roots.
I might also include a rhizome cutting of the Begonia in the painting ("Beefsteak"/'Erythrophylla'). It's not a descendent of the plant in the paintings, but should be the same clone.
I'm continuing to think what I might have at the moment, both CP and non CP.
And again, apologies for shifting the discussion. I'm basically trying to sort through my thoughts.
Pretty much anyone should have something they can donate.
